One reason we’re losing the battle of the bulge stems from the belief that “a calorie is a calorie.”  I’ve been writing about this for a while, hoping to dispel the prevailing belief that counting calories helps people lose weight. This simply isn’t true. No matter what you’ve heard, that’s far too simplistic… and also bogus. It’s time to set the record straight…

For starters, though this may sound too harsh…

DON”T BELIEVE ANY OF THE HYPE YOU SEE ON TV ABOUT WHAT FOODS AND DRINKS  MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT AND WHICH ONES AID DIGESTION.

Sorry to say, most so-called diet foods end up being super fattening, and it’s not because of their calorie count, but because of the way the body handles them. We’re getting fat because we’re EATING THE WRONG FOODS! There are so many misconceptions about food and weight that we have to come up with new solutions. The old ones simply aren’t working. We’ve often heard, “You are what you eat!”   I’ve decided to change that to “You are what you DON”T eat!”

How many times have you been warned that eating fat makes you fat? And what about the advice that eating fat free and sugar free foods and drinks will help you lose weight? We’ve all seen those cutesy ads using skilled actresses who smilingly brainwash us into buying lousy products. The result? We’re getting fatter and fatter, not to mention sicker and sicker.

It’s not rocket science. If you want to lose weight, you have to cut way back on foods that contain added sugar or any substitute sweetener, and also cut way back on grains, even Organic whole grains. Most people who bought into the “high-carb, low-fat” fad are probably wondering what they’re doing wrong. Has this happened to you?

Here’s the explanation:

If you eat more carbohydrates than you can use as fuel they’re stored as glycogen in 2 places — your liver and your muscles. Once the glycogen levels are reached in both these places, the unused carbs are converted into fat and stored in your adipose tissue. New pants anyone?

In light of this, what choices do you have?

1. Exercise more frequently and for longer periods to burn those carbs for energy

2. Cut way back on complex carbs. Yes, that means bread, pasta, all starches, and your beloved pizza. (ouch!) Also, make sure the carbs you do eat are 100% Whole Grain and Organic.

My friend Colin once came up with a cute saying… “A waist is a terrible thing to mind!’   Got it?